NC 1776 1/4 Dollar

North Carolina paper currency, Bill of
Credit value one fourth of a dollar

Maker

[James Davis, printer]

Material

Laid paper, ink

Origin

North Carolina, [New Bern]

Date:

1776

Dimensions:

OH: 2 ¼” (5.6 cm); OW: 3 1/8” (7.8 cm)

Description:

Engraved Bill of Credit for one-fourth of
a dollar issued by North Carolina
with decorative borders on the top and sides and a hare in the lower left
corner. Inscription: “NCarolina Currency/ No7992/
one fourth of a dollar/By
Authority of Congress/ at
Halifax April 2, 1776.” Ink
signature on obverse: “D Summer.” No writing on the reverse.

Donor:

Purchase

Relation:

Comments:

An Act dated April 2, 1776, (the beginning of the
session) authorized the printing of $1,250,000 (£500,000). The bills were
issued in two series: $250,000 in the first dated April 2, 1776 and
$1,000,000 in the second dated

May 9, 1776. Each bill has a vignette and
some contain mottoes. This design was issued in a series of 12,500 bills.
Fractional denominations are smaller than the higher denominations. Bills
were signed by: Willis Alston, J. Bradford, William Haywood, G. Hill,
Benjamin McCulloch, David Sumner, J. Webb, and William Williams. Some of the
bills in this issue were engraved by “GL” thought to be Gabriel Lewyn, a
Baltimore goldsmith. Only a few of the bills in this series have his
initials.

Language:

En

Rights:

Permission to use the photograph must be
obtained in writing from Tryon Palace Historic Sites & Gardens, New Bern, North Carolina.
It must be accompanied by the caption” From the collection of Tryon Palace
Historic Sites & Gardens, New Bern, North Carolina; North Carolina
Department of Cultural Resources, Division of Archive and History.”

This project is supported with federal
LSTA
funds made possible through a grant from the Institute of Museum and
Library Services, administered by the
State Library of North
Carolina, a division of the Department of Cultural Resources through
the North Carolina ECHO, 'Exploring
Cultural Heritage Online' Digitization Grant Program.